Tales from the Trenches: The U.S. National Archives World War I Army Division Records Online

By Suzanne Isaacs
United States National Archives

Last April, the National Archives embarked on a two year commemoration of the United States’ entry into World War I.

We created a World War I Centennial portal which highlights educator and genealogy resources, articles.

We also created a multimedia timeline, events and exhibits, and archival records documenting the U.S. experience in the conflict.

And you helped make these records more accessible through our World War I tagging and transcription missions.

Across the National Archives, archival units prioritized the digitization of Word War I records. The series "Records of Divisions, 1917 - 1920" was recently digitized and added to the Catalog. Within this series, you will find remarkable and moving accounts of war through unit histories, station lists, operations reports, messages, field orders, correspondence, general orders, special orders, bulletins, and memorandums that document the service of each American Expeditionary Forces combat division during its participation in World War I.

These records are the focus of a new transcription mission for our citizen archivists. Take a look and help us transcribe these incredible records! Within this series, you will find remarkable and moving accounts of war through unit histories, station lists, operations reports, messages, field orders, correspondence, general orders, special orders, bulletins, and memorandums that document the service of each American Expeditionary Forces combat division during its participation in World War I.

We were especially moved by these descriptions of the battlefield by the soldiers who experienced the war first hand:

Sgt. Ernst Beseler: “The hun evidently knew we were coming as it did not take long for him to get the range on us. So we proceeded to hunt cover as best we could. That night we moved up in the rear of the jumping-off place and slept on a narrow-gauge railroad. The hun shelled us all night long.”

Pvt. William R. Bird: “Being under shell fire for the first time doesn’t excite one near as much as I had always thought, however no one has to tell you to get low, as we had always been instructed to do.”

Guy S. Conrad [Rank Unknown]: “We were all laying on top of the ground by a small railroad, when Captain Towey gave orders to move forward. We gathered our equipment and started, did not go far till the Captain got shot. The rest kept on going. Lt. Hudson took charge we advanced to a cluster of trees took shelling for five minutes then advanced further it was there where the Bash gave us Hell.“

Sgt. R. M. Boyce: “The next morning we received orders to go over the top at five-fifteen. This order was carried out and we soon received a googly supply of Bosche artillery and machine guns, which caused the death of our Lieut., Platoon Sgt. and two privates besides wounding some more.”

Cpl. W. R. Cox: “There is no words which will thoroughly explain that feeling or sensation which we all had to contend with while amidst the bursting shells and the pitiful cries of our wounded soldiers and in order to make my story brief, I will conclude by saying the following: I feel confident, that if every living human being on earth could spend a few hours under a heavy barrage fire and could witness the barbarous sights on the battle fields, it would mean Peace and Good will on Earth forever.”

These records are the focus of a new transcription mission for our citizen archivists Take a look!

We hope you will explore these records and help transcribe them to make them more discoverable. Transcribing these records will bring history to life and ensure the soldiers’ stories will not be forgotten. Have you uncovered extraordinary or unexpected stories from these records?

We'll share more stories as we find them on History Hub.

Join us on History Hub, or email us at catalog@nara.gov to tell us what you found!